/f/ in the final position

Practice the /f/ sound with these words:

"shelf,"

"stuff," and...

"beef."

To practice phrases, I suggest having a contest with your child.  See who can spot an "empty shelf" first.  Whenever one of you spots one, say "empty shelf."

To practice sentences, ask your child what all the "stuff" in the second picture is.  Remind your child to use the word "stuff" in each sentence.  Targets may include, "That stuff is candy," "That stuff is sweet," and "That stuff is chocolate."

To practice conversation, ask your child what rhymes with beef; take turns after every few sentences so that this task mimics conversation.  Targets may include, "Leaf rhymes with beef.  Chief rhymes with beef.  Reef rhymes with beef."  An added bonus for this task is that is doubles the practice with /f/.  For the more advanced conversationalist, ask your child why some people don't eat beef (moral beliefs, religious beliefs, because they heard Oprah say she wouldn't eat beef in the 90s).  Another topic would be to ask your child what foods she thinks the store should put on an empty shelf.

Visual cues are helpful when making the /f/ sound.  Instruct your child to put her top teeth on her bottom lip, and blow.  Show her how to do it while you make the /f/ sound.  Touch cues are also helpful  You can gently push on her lower lip until it is under her top teeth.  Also, have her put her hand in front of her mouth when she makes the /f/ sound so that she can feel the air coming out.  A popular visual cue to remind your child how to make the sound is, "Bite and blow."

/f/ in the initial position

Practice /f/ with these words:

"fork" and...

"fruit" or "food."

To practice phrases, have your child describe the fruit.  Ask, "What kind of fruit do you see?"  The targets can include, "fresh fruit," "bags of fruit," "sliced fruit."

To practice sentences, ask your child how fruit tastes.  The targets can be, "Fruit tastes sweet," or even "Fruit tastes fruity"  because the object of this task is simply to practice the /f/ sound.

To practice conversation, ask your child what kinds of food she likes to eat with a fork.  A possible answer may be, "I like to eat fruit with a fork.  I like it when the fruit is fresh.  I like fruit from Giant Eagle."

Visual cues are helpful when making the /f/ sound.  Instruct your child to put her top teeth on her bottom lip, and blow.  Show her how to do it while you make the /f/ sound.  Touch cues are also helpful  You can gently push on her lower lip until it is under her top teeth.  Also, have her put her hand in front of her mouth when she makes the /f/ sound so that she can feel the air coming out.  A popular visual cue to remind your child how to make the sound is, "Bite and blow."